MADELINE DANEVICH GRADUATES IIDA NEW ENGLAND'S EMERGING LEADERS NETWORK
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Madeline Danevich recently graduated from the International Interior Design Association of New England’s Emerging Leaders Network, Class of 2025. This professional development training prepares participants for leadership roles through interactive seminars that cover a range of skills and business fundamentals over an 11-month period.
The Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) was developed in 2013 in response to one of the top requests from principals – the need for specific professional development training for individuals in the chapter. Participants with at least 3 years and up to 8 years of experience in the design industry are provided invaluable training and an IIDA membership for the following year, paid for by their companies.
Madeline’s final presentation, “AI is Fast, Design is Responsible,” highlighted the necessity for great design that requires context, empathy, and thoughtful design-making. Her group showed designers how they can leverage AI to streamline workflows, unlock new ideas, and spend more time developing their creativity that technology can't replace. You can find it here.
After graduating from the ELN, participants are encouraged to join an IIDA NE committee to continue developing their leadership skills while strengthening their ties to our community. Many graduates have gone on to chair IIDA NE committees, hold seats on our Board of Directors, and achieve leadership positions on their project teams and within their respective companies.
Madeline’s Top Takeaways from the 2025 IIDA New England ELN Program:
This program had seminars about personal finances, how to be successful business leaders, how to gain respect and recognition from your peers, even how to leverage networking for business development (we even learned how to golf!), as well as pay transparency discussions. Overall, I left feeling empowered to tap in and embrace my own strengths to be a smarter businesswoman, not only for myself but also for my firm.
The final presentation taught me professionalism and the importance of not only continuing my own education, but also my responsibility to help support others; in the process of my learning, others are learning too.
I gained lifelong connections and peers. I think having an experience cap in the program was great. Everyone was from a different firm, and in a competitive industry, it was great to feel a sense of community with like-minded, driven individuals. We were able to speak freely about our next-generation concerns: tough markets, EDI equality, and rapid technology advancements. It truly feels like I left with a team of the next leaders, all in the same boat, not as competitors but as mutuals, with the overall goal of advancing our industry.